|
>This page |
| Matlock's Schools in Earlier Times | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The English Education System |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
A few key milestones in the development of English State Education 1870 : Elementary
Education Act.'Better late than never'1 Universal elementary education was introduced, although a voluntary system of schools, run by the established Church and other religious voluntary bodies, was already in place. Where no voluntary school existed, school boards were set up so that schools could be established. Before this time, children of the poor had generally been mistreated, including by their parents, and exploited for child labour. 'Only two-fifths of the children between the ages of six and ten were attending school' in 1870'.2 One must also remember that there was a huge increase in the size of families and therefore in the population as a whole in the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, children's educational needs had been ill served for a couple of centuries prior to this and the first aim was to get children into school. There were one or two 'dame' schools in the district, as shown in the onsite early trade directories. A 'dame' school was just as it sounds - a school run by a female - and the teaching was often done in a spare room in her house.  Three
local dame schools were mentioned in a book of 1840Also see early
trade directories |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Matlock, unfortunately, did
not have one of the long established grammar schools that were to
be found elsewhere in Derbyshire. However, A.F. Leach says that the
Matlock School founded by George Spateman (see below)
was founded as a grammar school but became an elementary school4.Matlock's
free school is mentioned in documents in The Wolley Manuscripts, Matlock Before 1924, when Ernest Bailey established his co-educational grammar school in Matlock, those local school children who were lucky enough to win a grammar school scholarship attended schools outside Matlock. Pupils who won scholarships at the beginning of the twentieth century mostly went to mostly to either Herbert Strutt's Grammar School at Belper by train or Lady Manners School, Bakewell. Children whose parents could afford to pay fees were also educated at public or private schools. Ernest BaileyPrivate schoolsIt is sad to reflect that some children within the two parishes of Matlock and Matlock Bath who perhaps had the ability to receive a grammar school education before the 1944 Act was passed were too poor to afford either the fare or the uniform. In earlier times Richard Arkwright had sent two of his sons to Queen Elizabeth's at Ashbourne for a while in 1797 before they went on to Eton5. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Matlock Town & Green |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Education in Matlock first began as early as 1647 when Mr George Spateman of Tansley gave 80l. [£80] to found a free school in Matlock. Anthony Wolley, in 1668, left a further 5l. [£5] per annum. By 1817, the Lysons record there was an annual income of 43l. 14s [£43 14shillings]6. In 1857 the annual income was £36 p.a. [£36 per annum] - £30 to the school master; £2 for incidental expenses; £4 to the poor7. At that time the school was open to the sons of all the inhabitants of Matlock, 40 of whom were appointed by the trustees. They were taught free, 'apart from a small charge for providing books and fire7'.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| When Miss Sladen retired
from her post as headmistress of the Town school, the High Peak News
of 15 Nov 1919 reported that two days before she had been presented
with a testimonial. Seventeen guineas had been collected from 'a very
large number of people of all ages' and Canon Kewley, the rector,
and the 'Testimonial Committee' presented the gift together with a
list of all the subscribers to her in her Bank Road home. Former pupil Tim Lomas writes that between 1966 and 1970 there were 3 members of staff: The infants teacher was Mrs McDonald, the lower juniors were taught by Mrs Brough and the upper juniors teacher and headmaster was Gordon Sidney Ecob. Children who lived at Artist's Corner in Matlock Dale reached the school by crossing the River Derwent by the footbridge and then walked up the Pic Tor footpath. The school building has now been converted into three dwellings and the adjacent school house, built on a bend in the road, was demolished some years ago. There is now a new school, St. Giles primary, which is next to Highfields Lower School further up the hill. Matlock
Dale The British School, Matlock Green (formerly a Congregational chapel) was erected about 1863 for 350 pupils. In 1891 Edwin Davis was master; Miss Elizabeth Bridge was the mistress; the average attendance was 150 boys and girls and 50 infants1891. Davis was still the master in 1895 and Miss Elizabeth Beck had become infants' mistress1895. The Matlock School Board toook over the school in 1895 and Bryan states that this school was closed on 1st June 18963. See Chesterfield Road,
Matlock |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Matlock Bank - All Saints'
School |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In October 1873 the Education Department declared that the 'school accommodation for the elementary education of the children of the parish was deficient' (Bryan, p. 2313).
Peter Aspey was a pupil at All Saints in the 1950's and was shown around the building a few years ago, writes: "The main thing I can remember are the old wooden desks with ink wells - and on my visit I saw they were still there, only no ink pots in them now!" Another pupil comments that the "temporary" classrooms were there and looking less than new when he was a pupil in the 1960's but today some pupils are educated at the Hurd's Hollow site instead. Mark Whitehead recalls the teaching staff from his time as a pupil (1957-63). The teachers were Mrs Geeson (reception), Mrs Hill, Miss Land (top infants' class and headmistress), Mrs Horner (only there for about a year as a stand-in; she was the wife of the Headmaster at Ernest Bailey), Miss Muir (Mrs. Burkimsher), Mrs Bagshaw, Mr Stevens (churchwarden) and Mr Charles Laughton ("who was probably the best teacher I ever had"). Mr Burkimsher was the Headmaster. Several old photographs of the teachers and pupils, dating from around the year 1900, have been published in various books and booklets about Matlock. References
- Books and Other PublicationsMany original photographs are held by the Derbyshire Record Office Contacting
the Derbyshire Record Office (onsite link)Also see About
All Saints' Church
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chesterfield Road, Matlock |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
A Council School, built of of local gritstone, was erected at the eastern end of Smedley Street in 1897 as yet more school accommodation was needed in the town. The school opened on 23 September and cost £5,401 9s 2½d (Bryan, p. 240-13). In 1901 there were places for 326 boys and girls and 220 infants. Edwin Davis was the first headmaster, transferring here from the British School on Matlock Green where he had also been the head. Mr.
Davis is shown on a photograph of Board School Pupils, ca, 1898 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A former pupil who attended the school during WW2,
writes: "The headmaster of the council school was for many years a Mr Mills who lived on Smedley Street East. His successor was Mr Varnum. He lived at the top of the Dimple near All Saints' Church. Teachers I remember from the Council School were Miss Gretton and Miss Reeve. On my first day at the school I thought that one went home at the morning break and Miss Gretton came to our house to find me and return me to the school which wasn't far from where we lived in Lynholmes. At that time [1938], Lynholmes was a small development of 50 between-the-wars council houses."
There are three scanned photographs of pupils with their teachers at Matlock County Primary School taken in 1936, 1938 and 1939. The 1938 photo shows the then headmaster, Mr. Mills. Email for detailsAlso
see County Junior School, about 1931 - the girl pupils of Standard
VII |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Starkholmes |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mrs Thornewill conducted a Church School here in 1872 and by 1875 some 50 children were attending. The National School (mixed) was built of gritstone and opened at Easter 1879 for 80 pupils. In 1891 the average attendance was 401891.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kirsten Burrell (nee Twiggs), a former pupil, writes: "The school buildings at the time I attended were on the left hand side of the road going up Starkholmes Road above the White Lion pub. We used to play in the overgrown grounds of the original school; I remember that the playground was badly cracked in places and this can only have been a few years after the school was demolished.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Holy Trinity School, Matlock
Bath |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Church National School (mixed) - Holy Trinity - was built in 1853 for 300 pupils. It was erected on the tufa shelf, not far from the New Bath Hotel and Masson Mill, between what is now the road to Cromford and the River Derwent. The stone building cost £1,200. The money was raised from subscriptions, a parliamentary grant of £205, the National Society gave £50 and the Lichfield Educational Board gave £107. The school's entrances and classrooms were at road level, with a basement level below them for the headmaster's residence. The schoolroom was 55 feet in length and 33 feet wide; this was later divided into four by folding wooden and glass partitions. Underneath the building were the separate vaulted playgrounds for boys and girls; the pupils were able to look, through the railings, down on the river Derwent some distance below. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In 1857 Mr John and Mrs. Cope were the master and
mistress and the average attendance was 1307.
By 1876 George James Rowland was the master and his wife, Mrs. M.
M. Rowland, was the mistress1876;
they were still there in 1891 and the average attendance then was
1001891. By 1903 the headmaster
no longer lived on the premises, but the Church Sunday School was
still held here. By 1908 Mr. William Henry Lees A.Mus. T.C.L. was
the headmaster1908 (also
there in 19161916) and
he taught this writer's father, giving him a life long love of music
and art. Other headteachers have included Mr. Saint, who retired in
1950, and Mr. Kenneth Bannister (1950 -57). Mr. Bannister loved cricket
and had captained Matlock Cricket Club for seven years; in 1950 he
became the first Matlock player to take 500 wickets in postwar cricket.
He moved away from Matlock and Mrs. Moore then became headmistress. Miss Annie Walker was a well respected class teacher at the beginning of the twentieth century. Mrs Agnes Ethel Clay, sister to Charles White, also taught at the school and in the 1950's Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Cresswell and Mr. Boucher were on the staff. White's Directory of 1857 recorded that 'there is a library of about 230 volumes in connection with the school, which is free to all children but other parties pay an annual subscription of 5s [5 shillings] and 2s [2 shillings] and 6d [6 pence] or 1d [1 penny] per. volume7'. In Mr. Lees time the pupils were taught to write using Copperplate 'Roundhand' and used both pencils and pen and ink for their work. Pupils in the 1950's used the 'Marion Richardson' style of writing. They did not wear a school uniform. The building is no longer a school and the school itself has moved closer to the church, to a site on Clifton Road. There's a little more information about the pupils and school sports elsewhere on the site. Old Pavilion
and Royal Hotel |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secondary Education for
all |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Until the twentieth century there was no provision for local children to receive more than a basic elementary education unless their parents had enough money to pay for private education. This has been discussed above in The English Education System. The move towards secondary education for all the local children took place in several stages in Matlock and district. First of all, Ernest Bailey set up his Grammar School, which is described below. However, it was not until after the second world war that the needs of all the children over 11 years of age were met in full. Those who did not pass the 11+ examination and gain a scholarship place at Ernest Bailey's were still being educated with those of primary age until about September 1956. A Secondary Modern school was finally built in Starkholmes and was named after Charles White, who had been a local M.P. From then on, all pupils changed schools at 11, leaving only the under 11's in the primary schools (i.e. infants and juniors). When Derbyshire later changed over to the comprehensive system of education, the two schools amalgamated and the name was changed to Highfields School. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ernest Bailey Grammar School |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grammar School pupils in the 1950's were still expected
to stay at school until they were at least 16, though Matriculation
had been replaced by "O" (Ordinary) level examinations -
pupils sat for a variety of subjects. Those staying on until 18 specialized
with their chosen "A" (Advanced) levels and usually studied
only three subjects. In the year 2000 all pupils took GCSE (General
Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations usually in the academic
year they attained 16. There are, of course, exceptions to this. One of the early headmasters was Dr. E. H. Chapman. The headmaster at the end of WW2 was Mr B. C. Orme. One former pupil comments that "he also played the viola and, together with my mother's influence, engendered a love and interest in music which I have retained (only as a keen listener, I would add). He was always keen that EBGS should compete in Music Festivals. I still remember singing with the school choir at the the Pavilion in the Matlock Bath Music Festival". Keith Beardow was a pupil at Baileys from 1942 to 1948 and says that in his time at the school the teachers were:
The New Street site was limited for space and pupils were transported to the sports grounds in Cromford Meadows for rugby, hockey etc. The old boys rugby club was known as the Old Baileans (now Matlock) and was very successful. The school eventually merged with Charles White's and the older pupils moved to new premises on Chesterfield Road. Although Ernest Bailey's name is no longer linked to Matlock's present secondary school (it is now Highfields School - see above), his name is still associated with the building it was originally in. Derbyshire's County Record Office is now located in the Ernest Bailey building - which is the old school building. On a relatively recent visit to the County Record Office one correspondent learned that the old gymnasium had been converted for storage and that they can accommodate several miles of shelved records. The following quotation gives an insight into the kind of man Ernest Bailey was. "Ernest Bailey, benefactor, had many mills. One day he moved out of his home and 34 boys moved in. Over almost 40 years, 450 of 'Bailey's Boys', waifs and strays, were fed, clothed and educated, many eventually finding work in his mills. The house carried on as a children's home; nursery nurses came to train there and were a familiar sight with their huge prams and tiny charges9."Bailey's house was Cliffe House on Matlock Green and it became St. Andrew's Home, run by the Church of England Waifs' & Strays' Society. There are various directory entries for this. Kelly's
Directory, 1908 is one example |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lower VIth Form visit to British Industries Fair, Castle Bromwich, 16th May 1950 Correspondents have supplied most of the names of these young men. If you, or your father, are amongst the pupils in the photograph, please let me know. Send an email, with Ernest Bailey in the message box. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charles White's Secondary
Modern |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Although Charles White's was not opened as long ago as all the other schools mentioned on this page (see above), a large number of local children were educated there from the middle of the 1950's onwards until the amalgamation with Bailey's - when the name changed to Highfields School and the older pupils moved to a different part of the town. Tim Lomas, formerly a Matlock resident, estimates that the total of the children attending Charles White's in any one year outnumbered those who went to Bailey's by around 3 : 1.
To fulfil the educational needs for the children over 11 who not catered for by Bailey's Grammar, Charles White's school was purpose built and erected by Derbyshire County Council on Starkholmes Road. The building sits on the hillside below Riber and can be seen quite clearly from almost anywhere on Matlock Bank. The architecture is typical of the 1950's. The photograph above shows what was the Secondary Modern, but is now Highfields Lower School. The new St. Giles' Primary is next door but is out of shot. Pupils were able to leave school at the Easter in the year they were 15 until the school leaving age was raised (1971/2?). Those who who stayed on until they were 16 were able to sit for CSE examinations (Certificate of Secondary Education). These examinations no longer exist - they have been replaced by GCSE's. The school's headmaster for many years was Mr. Watcham. Charles Frederick White Junior (1891-1956), after whom the school was named, was the only son and namesake of a former Liberal Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire. He became M.P. himself for the constituency in 1944, first as an Independent Labour and then as Labour, and served until 1950. He had been a member of Derbyshire County Council for many years and was its Chairman in 1946. His sisters were also involved in education See Private schools (below) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Presentation Convent, Matlock |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
In 1926 or so Mother Xavier Murphy visited Matlock. By then the once busy hydropathic establishment founded by Ralph Davis in 1861 and with extensive grounds on Chesterfield Road was closed and the building was unoccupied. The Presentation Sisters, who were based in India, decided to buy Chesterfield House, opening their Convent in 1927 and the school was opened shortly afterwards. By 1932 Kelly's Directory was advertising the school as the Presentation Convent & Boarding School for Girls1932. The pupils were taught 'foreign languages, painting, shorthand, typing, dressmaking, all games & riding & dancing taught; pupils prepared for University examinations' . In 1941 there was a separate listing for Matlock Convent High School, but both establishments were located at Chesterfield House, Chesterfield Road. However, it was not until after the Second World war that new buildings were able to be added to accommodate the growing demand for pupil places. The school expanded still further in 1962 when Lilybank Hydro, further down the hill, finally closed its doors. As well as giving some additional boarding facilities for the first year Convent pupils, Lilybank became the Nagle Preparatory School with both boarding and day pupils. The Convent girls sometimes found the walk up the hill every morning from Lilybank to their classes hard going, especially when wet! Read
about Lilybank Hydro (Dalefield) and the Barton family who built it"Taken
Back In Time - Lilybank" by Sally Mosley is an article
about her schooldays as a pupil in the 1960s |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
There is another photograph of Chesterfield House on this website See: What happened
to the HydrosPlus additional information about Water Cures and
hydropathyCaroline Cantor was a pupil at the Convent on Chesterfield Road from 1974 to 1981, and has organised a few reunions for former pupils and staff over the past few years. If you are either a past pupil or member of staff of the Presentation Convent or Nagle Preparatory School, Matlock and are interested in news of other past pupils, staff and reunions, please email Caroline, including your name whilst at school and the dates you were there. She would welcome hearing from you. I am very grateful to Caroline for providing photographs and some additional information from articles published in Derbyshire Life & Countryside (Jan and Feb 1976) by Derek Crust in a series on Derbyshire Schools. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former Private Schools
in Matlock (i.e. fee paying) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cavendish School, Smedley Street In 1916 this was a boys and girls day school run by Edward V W Bynnes-Kingsley1916. The school was in the large building opposite the old Paton & Baldwin's factory. In 1918 The Daily News 1918 reported a "Disgraceful Escapade of Gang of Matlock High School Boys". Find out more about this story via The
British National Library on Line Catalogue (takes you to the onsite
link) Cavendish
School in the 1901 censusMatlock Garden School, boarding school for girls and junior boys. Mrs Albert Law, principal1925. By 1932 this had become Matlock Modern School1932, with the same principal. The address given was Rutland Street, and was in the building formerly known as Matlock House Hydro. However, when it first opened the school was at Tor Cottage, Matlock Bath. Matlock
House HydroRiber Capt. Lionel Gathorne Wilson, M.A., preparatory school for boys for public schools, Riber Castle1925. About RiberMr.
Chippett's School at Riber CastleRiber
Castle School "A Lesson in Matlock's History"Riber
School in the 1901 censusWoodlands Preparatory School, or Miss White's Miss White's school began as a very small venture in the family home on Bakewell Road, which was called "The Woodlands", and the school remained there for about 20 years or so. Kelly's Directory (1941) records Miss Winifred Alice White, principal on Bakewell Road. At the end of the war, two of the White sisters bought the former Oldham House and Prospect Place Hydro on Wellington Street. Oldham House and Prospect Place had been run for many years as a hydro, until the outbreak of the war when the building was requisitioned one weekend, by the Davis family. The school was often called simply "Miss White's". It eventually closed in 1965. There
is more information. See: Woodlands School (Miss White's) & Oldham
House Hydro |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Surviving School Records |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Census returns On site census returns list staff and pupils at some of the private boarding schools in Matlock and Matlock Bath Transcripts of census
returns may be viewed via the QuickList See Matlock
Green Academy in the 1861 censusAdmission Books and Log Books Many are held by the Derbyshire Record Office, although more recent records are usually closed. There is no set time period for closure; it is often for at least thirty years and may be for considerably longer. If you are interested in finding out more about someone who went to one of the local schools you will need to contact the DRO Go to
Contacting the Derbyshire Record Office (onsite link)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teacher Training in Matlock |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
One correspondent, whose wife trained there, writes that 'Matlock Teacher Training College had quite a long history and many teachers emerged from the portals of the old Rockside and Chatsworth House Hydros. Firstly it was for ladies only but later became a mixed college'. The college is no longer based in Matlock and is now part of the University of Derby. What happened
to the HydrosRockside
Hall - Students Residence, 1956You may like to view more onsite information Board
School Pupils ca, 1898Mr.
Chippett's School at Riber CastleApplying
to the Trustees 1814Matlock
Bath Pavilion & the Schools Mobile LibraryMatlock children attended schools in other towns and villages. For example, Alison Uttley (nee Taylor) attended Lady Manners. See Rosemary Lockie's webpage. Lady
Manners School, Bakewell |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Photographs kindly provided by and © Kirsten Burrell, Caroline Cantor, Paul Kettle, PC-B and the webmistress. Information researched by and © Ann Andrews. Intended for personal use only |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
References: 1 Trevelyan, G. M. (1944), "English Social History", Longmans, p. 581 2 Lester Smith , W. O. (1957) "Education" , Penguin p.192 3 Bryan, Benjamin (1903) "History of Matlock - Matlock, Manor and Parish" London by Bemrose & Sons, Limited 4 "Victorian County History, Vol.2" and "Journal of the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society", Vol. 41 5 Fitton, R. S. (1989) "The Arkwrights, Spinners of Fortune" Manchester University Press ISBN 0/7190/2646/6, p.262 6 Lysons, Rev Daniel and Samuel Lysons Esq. (1817) "Topographical and Historical Account of Derbyshire" London: Printed for T. Cadell, Strand; and G. and A. Greenland, Poultry 7 White, Francis (1857) "History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Derby", Francis White & Co 8 'General Commercial Directory and Topography of the Borough of Sheffield with all the Towns, Parishes, Villages and Hamlets Within a Circuit of Twenty Miles', pub. Francis White & Co. Sheffield, 1862 9 'The Derbyshire Village Book' published by the Derbyshire Federation of Women's Institutes & Countryside Books, 1991. ISBN 1 85306 133 6. The book itself is now out of print, but the quotation is published here with the kind permission of the Derbyshire Federation of Women's Institutes. 1876 "Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire", 1876 } There are online transcripts: 19th century directories 1887 "Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire", 1887 } - 1891 "Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire", 1891 } " 1895 "Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire", 1895 } " (Matlock Bath only) 1908 "Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire", 1908 } There are online transcripts: 20th century directories 1916 "Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire", 1916 } " 1925 "Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire", 1925 } - 1932 "Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire", 1932 } - |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| © 1996 -
Ann Andrews (click link to contact). All Rights
Reserved. Last Update:
30 March, 2008
About and Conditions of Use | Site Map, Matlock | Part of The Andrews Pages - www.andrewspages.dial.pipex.com |